Reveille With Beverly (1943)

April 24, 1943

At the Abbey

T.S.

Published: April 24, 1943

"Reveille With Beverly" opened with a thud yesterday at the Abbey. Dedicated to the hepcat element, which seemed to have stayed away in large numbers, it is a cheerless series of musical numbers strung together with a tired little story guaranteed to produce a severe case of ennui in record-breaking time. One by one, between smiles by Ann Miller, Duke Ellington, Bob Crosby, Count Basie and Freddie Slack stand up to wave their batons over some noisy demonstrations which resemble nothing so much as the left-over numbers from some old musical short subjects. The Mills Brothers, the Radio Rogues and Frank Sinatra have their turns, too. But whether the turns are long or brief, they are all equally depressive. And it was such a nice day, too.